Till Human Voices Wake Us
by atetheredmind
Summary: Peeta and Katniss share a moment at the edge of the world during the Victory Tour. Written for the promptsinpanem/Everlark Week Challenge.


_**Author's note:** I wrote this for the _**promptsinpanem**_ challenge on tumblr (also known as the Everlark Week Challenge). Be sure to check out all the amazing submissions written by other authors!_

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Effie Trinket was freaking out.

If Katniss wasn't so exhausted from keeping up the daily pretense of her epic love affair—and from pretending like she didn't absolutely want to smack the crap out of every Capitol and district official she encountered—she might have throttled her escort's slender, white-shellacked neck.

But she refrained. And when Effie screeched across the train compartment about Peeta's unknown whereabouts and the delay in their schedule, Katniss even managed an overly saccharine-sweet smile for the older woman's benefit. "I'll find him," she told her, mostly to stop the ringing in her ears from Effie's shrill squawking.

Katniss doubled checked his room and then hers—no luck. If he wasn't in either of those places, somehow she knew she would not find him on the train. She checked outside the cars, and finally she stepped onto the platform at the train station. The air was heavy with salt; the beach of District 4 stretched out parallel to the train, and the sea breeze rustled her hair and dress. Inhaling deeply, she scanned the platform and then the shoreline. Finally, her eyes found his form on the beach silhouetted by the moonlight, his stocky frame dwarfed by the miles of ocean water before him.

Kicking off her heels, she hiked up her dress to her knees and trekked through the sand. She stopped a couple feet behind him, observing him from behind. He must not have heard her approach. "What are you doing?"

He started slightly, throwing a glance over his shoulder. He smiled, stuffing his hands into his pockets. His pants were rolled up, and the waves lapped around his bare feet—_foot_. His prosthetic sunk into the wet sand alongside his real one. Moving to stand beside him, Katniss dropped the folds of her dress, and it swished in the water as the waves moved in and out. The water was a little cold.

"I don't want to forget this. I don't want to forget this feeling," Peeta said softly, staring out over the black expanse of the ocean.

She craned her neck slightly to look at him, drinking in the sharp profile of his dimly illuminated face. "What do you mean?"

Peeta inclined his head at the sea. "This. All of this. It's incredible, don't you think?" She nodded thoughtfully. "Looking at the ocean, I just feel so...inconsequential yet limitless at the same time. It's oddly calming. This is the most relaxed I've felt this entire time." For a moment, the only sound was the roar of the waves and the salty breeze. "It just makes me wonder what else is out there. What else is there we don't get to see? Where does the ocean end—if it even ends?" he pondered, and she could see the strain in his down-turned mouth, his narrowed eyes.

Swallowing thickly, Katniss trained her eyes back out over the water, trying to find the horizon, but the black sky seemed to bleed into the murky depths of the sea. At this moment, she understood what Peeta meant when he said he felt limitless, but for her it was a frightening feeling. She suddenly longed for the lake back home in District 12—_her_ lake in _her_ woods—where she could see the boundaries and touch the bottom, where she could get lost for hours without actually being lost.

Unbidden, she reached for his hand, and he pressed his palm to hers obligingly, knotting their fingers together.

"How many people do you think try to run away by swimming as far out to sea as they can?" she whispered. "Do you think anyone's ever succeeded?"

His lips twitched into a wary frown, but he kept his eyes on the sea. "I don't know. But...I think I'd try it. Right now, if I didn't have anyone else to worry about," he said quietly, and she was surprised by his boldness. He didn't talk like that often. Peeta finally looked at her, giving her a crooked smile. "But I don't even know how to swim."

Katniss tilted her head, considering him silently. "I do. Know how to swim, I mean," she clarified. If he was surprised, he didn't show it. "Maybe I could teach you someday."

He nodded gratefully. "I would like that." They went back to watching the sea, and by now Effie had to be yanking out tufts of her wig in frustration over their lateness, but Katniss didn't want to go back any more than Peeta did. Dropping her eyes, she watched the waves ebb and flow around their feet, the gauzy material of her dress moving with the tide. And suddenly she was struck with an idea.

Releasing Peeta's hand, she reached behind her to grasp for the zipper on her dress, fumbling until she found it. With a hard yank, she pulled the zipper down and shrugged out of her dress. She kicked it onto the sand behind her, left bare except for her bra and underwear. Peeta gawked at her. "What are you doing?" he asked, gallantly trying not to let his gaze drop below her neck, and she appreciated his efforts.

"I don't want to ruin my dress," she said casually. Then she marched farther into the sea, wobbling slightly when the waves crashed against her legs, and she stopped when the water crested just below her breasts. When she turned back to him, he was still staring at her slack-jawed, and she motioned for him. "Well, come on! You can still touch the bottom here."

Shaking his head, he hesitated only briefly before he stripped down to his underwear. Katniss tried not to leer at him, noting how the moonlight defined the pale skin of his chest and shoulders, and she looked away, digging her toes into the soft, squishy sand underneath her feet. He crashed through the waves toward her, cursing loudly at the temperature. "You didn't say it was cold!" he complained, and with a smile she reached her hand out to help steady him; he took it eagerly. Standing in front of her, he looked down at her, apprehension and amusement creasing his face. "This is crazy."

And she laughed, loudly. "Everything about this, this _whole _trip is crazy and messed up and sick," she gestured wildly. "I think this is the most normal thing we've done."

He grinned then, opening his mouth to respond, but he yelped in fear, losing his balance and falling backward. He floundered, his head disappearing beneath the surface, and Katniss grasped his arms under the water, yanking him back up. "Peeta!"

"Something touched me!" he sputtered, glancing around them wildly, and she laughed again.

"Just a fish, I'm sure," she explained, helping him wipe the water from his eyes. She stilled suddenly, hearing a sound in the distance, and she glanced at the shore. Then she launched herself at Peeta, nearly knocking him back into the water. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him urgently. He gasped against her mouth, but his hands gripped her waist steadily. When she pulled back, he stared at her breathlessly, and she buried her nose against his ear. "Effie."

He stiffened, looking to the beach; Effie teetered on her heels in the sand, yelling at them. "Honestly, you two! Do I need to pry you apart with a stick?" she shrieked, hands on her hips, and they could hear her dramatic sigh even over the ocean. "Well, I guess I can't be too mad. This is just too sweet. But we need to leave immediately! Let's go!"

"Right," Peeta muttered sadly, setting Katniss down in the water. Once she was sure they were following, Effie staggered back to the train, nearly tripping several times. Still, Katniss was impressed. She and Peeta redressed in silence and walked back to the train sullenly.

But when they were back in her room, cocooned in each other's arms, Peeta whispered in her ear, "When I close my eyes, I can still feel the waves rocking us gently." Katniss hummed sleepily, but his voice turned urgent. "Don't let me forget this, okay?"

How could he forget? she wondered foggily, but she squeezed his arm in reassurance. "Okay, Peeta. If you forget, I'll remind you."


End file.
